I wish I had more time to write, things have been busy this weekend! I didn’t consciously decide not to post, but when I normally do my work (in the late evenings) we’ve been playing with the puppy so he’ll be worn out for bedtime.
FinanciallyI don’t think that my working made much difference this month. Partly this is because I only received one paycheck from my new job (it takes 2 weeks to get paid), and partly because we’ve spent a bit more than usual on eating out this month. We had 2 restaurant meals, one we really enjoyed, and one we felt was SO not worth the money. I really think it’s worth more to pay a sitter so just the hubby and I go out, it equals about the same cost-wise but is infinitely more enjoyable. Also throw in the puppy expenses ($950 total so far) and that really threw a wrench in the budget!
Adjusting to work was hard, but add the new puppy to the mix and it makes things more complicated. He’s a rambunctious guy in the house, getting into everything so we are crate training him both for house training purposes and so when he is out of the crate we’re actively playing or training him. I will say despite the cost, mess and my annoyance at having to vacuum the house daily he is too darn cute to be irritated with or mad at! Especially when we take him to the park and he runs after the kids. I’ll have to get a video.
Appa has also made us spend a LOT more time outside (even in cold weather) which is fantastic for our health. I think we’ve gone to the park (one street over) more times this past week than the last 18 months we have been living here!
This weekend I was also in my first fender bender. I have been in one accident in the past (age 18), and hit a pole (you know minivans are bigger than you think!), but this is my first fender bender. I rolled forward as the car in front of me started to pull out and then she stopped while I was looking left at traffic. I ran into her while braking hard. My fault! Thankfully it was minor. Note: give the other driver your phone number! Instead of a ? mark hanging over my head not knowing whether she would call the insurance company, she called and said she wasn’t going to phone her insurance. It wouldn’t be more than 15 minutes of buffing to fix it. Yay!
Saturday afternoon we made a trip to the Philly Zoo. We purchased a membership since 2 adults+4 kids+parking=$108, and the membership was $99. We’ve already saved $9, and the more we go back the more worth it the membership will be. We haven’t been in YEARS (taking 4 kids anywhere is usually not my definition of fun), and this was the first visit for the youngest kids. I am in love with the new Big Cat area, and can’t wait to see the bird area that is currently being revamped (scheduled to be open May 2009) If you need a creative gift idea for a family, or have a family yourself look into getting a membership at local museums, zoos, gardens, etc. Many times you get reciprocal benefits which means you can get into other museums across the country!
Sunday afternoon we had our annual eye exams. The oldest girl (7) needs glasses! She was beyond thrilled. Hopefully this will eliminate her headaches which also cause bad moods and not so nice behavior. Last year she threw a tantrum in Lenscrafters when they told her she didn’t need glasses! She chose a dark pink colored frame with sparkles. I also needed new glasses since I had a stronger prescription, as did my son (11). My husband’s eyes were the same, and the youngest daughter (5) is too young for glasses yet. (she’s only a step off “normal” so they’ll check in again next year and if they are worse she’ll get glasses then) The littlest guy (3) didn’t want to do an eye exam, so we’ll try again next year.
We have great insurance so we always use the insurance plus our health care flexible spending account. After leaving, my hubby commented that the salesman kept saying we “saved” $x by paying with our insurance. It even said that on the final bill! Um, last I heard we PAID for our insurance, so we weren’t really saving anything! I guess they are trying to make it seem cheap to shop there in the current economy. My thoughts were confirmed when we picked up the glasses and received a speech about how much Lenscrafters appreciates our business in this tough economy. We paid for it with our new FSA card. I LOVE that card. No out of pocket, no faxing forms anymore!
It’s been a busy weekend, but I hear Spring may be headed our way, so I’m going into the week with a smile on my face. It helps that I didn’t wake up unable to breathe through my nose! It’s all about appreciating the little things today, like breathing!
How was your weekend?
Kelly
{ 4 comments }
I have an HSA account, and I really like it. I guess it is a bit different than a FSA since you have to spend it before the end of the year, but I still use it to budget my health expenses.
An HSA is a great option if you have high deductible insurance. Our HDIP was only $10/mo more than our current awesome PPO so it wasn’t worth the switch.
I know some folks who have HSA and are very happy with them.
hang on to your receipts anyway – they may ask you to substantiate your purchases. When our card was through aetna we’d get the request like 4-6 wks later, and LensCrafters (and the eye doc. appointments) were some of the things we had to “prove.” Also, our new card is through ADP & they wanted a receipt from 1-800 contacts…
Great info KLo!
Thankfully our FSA provider asked that we keep receipts, but it’s still easier than filing out the forms and getting the hubby to fax them!
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